By Swansy Afonso & Prabhudatta Mishra - Jun 17, 2013
Bloomberg
Monsoon, which accounts for 70 percent of India’s annual rainfall, covered the entire country in a record time, accelerating plantings of crops from rice to soybeans and cotton.
Rains covered the whole of India yesterday, the earliest ever and ahead of the normal date of July 15, said D.S. Pai, head of the long-range forecasting division at the India Meteorological Department. Monsoon showers have been 48 percent above a 50-year average since they arrived on June 1, the forecaster said on its website.
The early arrival of rainfall has helped ease a drinking water shortage and relieved crops threatened by the worst drought in four decades in India’s western region. A bumper harvest may help Asia’s third-biggest economy curb food prices and revive economic growth from the lowest level in a decade. Agriculture accounts for about a fifth of the economy, while 55 percent of the farm land does not have access to irrigation.
“Early rainfall augurs well for all rainfed crops including soybean, cotton, sugar cane, rice, corn,” P. Chengal Reddy, secretary general of the Consortium of Indian Farmers Association, said by phone from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. “Early and more than normal rains will recharge the groundwater and help farmers who are dependent on irrigation.”
Rainfall will be 98 percent of the 50-year average of 89 centimeters (35 inches) in the four months through September, the weather bureau said on June 14. It defines normal precipitation as 96 percent to 104 percent of the average received between 1951 and 2000. Showers in July, the wettest month of the season, will be 101 percent of the average and more than the 87 percent last year, it said.
Early Sowing
The sowing of the soybean crop, the main oilseed sown in the monsoon season, has commenced in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh with the earlier-than-normal arrival of rains, Rajesh Agrawal, spokesman of the Soybeans Processors Association of India, said by phone from Indore. The state grows more than 50 percent of the nation’s crop.
“The entire planting will be completed in a week’s time, which has probably never happened in the past,” he said. “Normally, the rains arrive by June end and the sowing extends until middle or late July. This is a good beginning and will have good results if we have good follow up rains. The early rains will boost yields.”
More than 235 million farmers in India, the world’s second-largest producer of cotton, rice and sugar cane, depend on rain for irrigating crops. The monsoon reached the southern state of Kerala on June 1, two days ahead of the onset date forecast by the weather body.
Planting Progress
Rice has been planted in 794,000 hectares (1.96 million acres) as of June 14 while oilseeds have been sown in 157,000 hectares, the farm ministry said. Sugar cane was planted in 4.21 million hectares and cotton in 1.58 million hectares, it said.
Rainfall in August will be 96 percent of the average, compared with 101 percent last year, the bureau said on June 14. Northwest India, the main wheat, rice and sugar cane region may get 94 percent of average rainfall this year, while the central region, the biggest soybean grower, may see precipitation of as much as 98 percent of the average, the bureau said.
Bloomberg
Monsoon, which accounts for 70 percent of India’s annual rainfall, covered the entire country in a record time, accelerating plantings of crops from rice to soybeans and cotton.
Rains covered the whole of India yesterday, the earliest ever and ahead of the normal date of July 15, said D.S. Pai, head of the long-range forecasting division at the India Meteorological Department. Monsoon showers have been 48 percent above a 50-year average since they arrived on June 1, the forecaster said on its website.
The early arrival of rainfall has helped ease a drinking water shortage and relieved crops threatened by the worst drought in four decades in India’s western region. A bumper harvest may help Asia’s third-biggest economy curb food prices and revive economic growth from the lowest level in a decade. Agriculture accounts for about a fifth of the economy, while 55 percent of the farm land does not have access to irrigation.
“Early rainfall augurs well for all rainfed crops including soybean, cotton, sugar cane, rice, corn,” P. Chengal Reddy, secretary general of the Consortium of Indian Farmers Association, said by phone from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. “Early and more than normal rains will recharge the groundwater and help farmers who are dependent on irrigation.”
Rainfall will be 98 percent of the 50-year average of 89 centimeters (35 inches) in the four months through September, the weather bureau said on June 14. It defines normal precipitation as 96 percent to 104 percent of the average received between 1951 and 2000. Showers in July, the wettest month of the season, will be 101 percent of the average and more than the 87 percent last year, it said.
Early Sowing
The sowing of the soybean crop, the main oilseed sown in the monsoon season, has commenced in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh with the earlier-than-normal arrival of rains, Rajesh Agrawal, spokesman of the Soybeans Processors Association of India, said by phone from Indore. The state grows more than 50 percent of the nation’s crop.
“The entire planting will be completed in a week’s time, which has probably never happened in the past,” he said. “Normally, the rains arrive by June end and the sowing extends until middle or late July. This is a good beginning and will have good results if we have good follow up rains. The early rains will boost yields.”
More than 235 million farmers in India, the world’s second-largest producer of cotton, rice and sugar cane, depend on rain for irrigating crops. The monsoon reached the southern state of Kerala on June 1, two days ahead of the onset date forecast by the weather body.
Planting Progress
Rice has been planted in 794,000 hectares (1.96 million acres) as of June 14 while oilseeds have been sown in 157,000 hectares, the farm ministry said. Sugar cane was planted in 4.21 million hectares and cotton in 1.58 million hectares, it said.
Rainfall in August will be 96 percent of the average, compared with 101 percent last year, the bureau said on June 14. Northwest India, the main wheat, rice and sugar cane region may get 94 percent of average rainfall this year, while the central region, the biggest soybean grower, may see precipitation of as much as 98 percent of the average, the bureau said.
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